29 



THE ATHALIA GROUP OF THE GENUS MELITMA. 

 By George Wheeler, M.A., F.E.S. 



(Continued from p. 7.) 



There are three principal directions in which the species of 

 this group tend to vary, viz. size, the distribution of the usual 

 colouring, and the approach on the upper side to the more varie- 

 gated Aurinia-gYou^. The first of these has already been 

 touched on and in some cases accounted for, nor has it, taken 

 alone, given rise to any varietal name, except in the one (pro- 

 bably mistaken) case of varia. Other sources of variation are 

 the shape of the wings, which in some cases appears to be a 

 local peculiarity, and the occasional approach on the under side 

 to the Ciw^ia-group, which seems to be purely aberrational in 

 character. Of the remaining directions of variation the approach 

 on the upper side, especially in the female, to the .4»n/aa-group 

 is perhaps the more widely interesting, but being in most cases 

 by far the less conspicuous, it has not figured so largely as a 

 cause of named varieties, and more particularly aberrations, as 

 the unusual distribution of the ordinary colouring, and it is to 

 the named forms that I wish now to direct attention. As a 

 matter of personal opinion, I regard it as a somewhat un- 

 necessary overloading both of the memory and of the " variety " 

 list to name every intermediate form, though no doubt it serves 

 here and there to recall to the minds of entomologists the names 

 of some who have done valuable work which might otherwise be 

 in danger of being forgotten — I allude to the icork not the names ; 

 but on the whole it would seem better if extreme forms only were 

 named, and intermediates merely regarded as "transition to 

 so-and-so," or if all aberrant forms were called by the name of 

 the well-marked form they most nearly resemble, and towards 

 which they tend, without regard to the actual extent of the in- 

 dividual aberration. But as this is now far past hoping for, so 

 many names having already been given, some of them a very 

 longtime back, it is at any rate as well that we should know the 

 forms to which the names really apply, a knowledge which can 

 only be gained by reference to the original descriptions ; though 

 it is still quite permissible to refer to the same name forms 

 nearly resembling the originals, especially in the case of those 

 that are rather aberrational than varietal in character. One 

 can hardly help feeling that in general the desire to possess 

 named varieties, and the love of writing " mihi," or seeing one's 

 own name quoted, after the name of an insect, is more often 

 responsible for the constant accumulation of aberrational names 

 than any more scientific cause ; and this accumulation has 

 increased vastly since the time when Kingsley made such game 



